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A student of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomosho, Oyo State, Nigeria, Samson Oluwatoyin has emerged winner of the February edition of the BRIGITTE POIRSON POETRY CONTEST 2015.
Samson Oluwatoyin’s poem ‘THE PHONICS OF A LEADER’ was adjudged to be the best out of scores of entries received.
Following closely is 2nd placed Darlington Ekene Oguguaand 3rd placed James Ogunjimi.
Samson will receive a cheque of N5,000, a certificate and a copy of Kukogho Iruesiri Samson’s collection of poems ‘What Can Words Do?’
Interestingly, 11 poets, instead of 10, made the top 10 lists, because the 6th and 10th positions were tied.
All of them will be awarded certificates.

“…Writing about or evaluating a large plate of poetry on a theme as intricate as leadership/service must be a daunting task to do, yet I encountered some delightful, if compelling verses worth rereading and reflecting upon.”

~ Shittu Fowora BPPC co-Judge, February 2015

Here is the winning entry:THE PHONICS OF A LEADER by Samson Oluwatoyin

Down in the world of the heart
Among the brethren of thoughts
Deep down the oasis of life
Across the fire of love
Up above the vengeance of hatred
Lies his spirit of happiness

Up there above the sky
Beyond the strength of the dews
Above the colourful atmosphere
Higher than the blissful stars
Beyond the power of the sun
Lies his power of service

Above the doings of the heart
Across the golden streams of thought
Far beyond what you can fathom
Is the logic beyond his algorithm of existence
The extravagant grace to lead

The oceans can never be quantified
No one measure the sands on the shore
Far beyond the graces of air
With the ferventness of glories
Up above our fears and judgments
Lies the reward of a leader

You tell your tale
They tell their stories
We all have pens in our mouths
But the words are different
Some unto death
Some unto life.

EXCERPTS FROM THE TOP 11 ENTRIES:

‘LET’S HOLD HANDS’ by Darlington Ekene Ogugua

I watch as soldier ants trudge along
One behind the other, strong
No evident ant commander,
How they stay true to task, I wonder

‘HUMANITY’S CALL’ by James Ogunjimi

When we talk about leadership,
Very few understand what it means.
Should it be about a shepherd directing his sheep?
Or is it about man playing God and punishing all sins?

Remember before you open your mouth
The men before you.
They were left dangling from gallows.
Buried they were in unmarked graves.
Wiwa had a cause;
He was left hanging.

‘CHRONICLE OF A DEAF LAND’ by Adewumi Olumide Benedict

The deaf man’s land
Wiped out by the blind man’s hand
Every face faced the sand with tears
Every hair, plaited, cut or left
Became rolled over some oil, wealth of death.
This happened in the deaf man’s land

‘A CALL TO SERVE’ by Ferdinand King

They always dream to ride at the Pinnacle,
To be held in awe like an Oracle,
Men thirsty for the red wine of Supremacy,
Shedding blood on the altars of Democracy,
Kai! Is that what it means to lead?

‘MY PLEDGE’ by Adelaja Ridwan Olayiwola

…that my wind shall help
And not distort –
Help lift pollens into stigmas
And not raise dust to blind.

‘BECAUSE I LEAD’ by Nwamaka Frances Ebubechukwu

I sit on a throne
My head on a crown so gold
This seat a golden plateau
From which I can’t be thrown

‘THE BROKEN POT’ by Oluwatosin Faith Kolawole

The dusk is nigh,
I will once again place my rattled bone
On this soiled land filled with our leaders’ farts
Let them clatter!
And sing rhythms to posterity
I wish not for a resting place called grave
Save the land of my ancestors

‘I WRITE FOR YOU’ by Showunmi Olawale Michael

I do not write for the god of rubies
Nor for the noise of mortal
The pomp of power and lofty spoils
The fading flashes of earthly dames.

The judges looked out for: Structure (harmony of words, presentation, etc), Creativity/Originality, Relevance to the Theme and the overall Impression of the poem.

The Brigitte Poirson Poetry Contest (BPPC) is a monthly contest organized in honor of Brigitte Poirson, French poet and lecturer, editor and promoter of African poetry.

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